Trevor Story will make his Red Sox spring training debut Saturday afternoon, three days after Boston officially introduced the All-Star infielder during a press conference at JetBlue Park.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Thursday revealed the plan for Story, who officially signed a six-year, $140 million contract with Boston on Wednesday.
“Yesterday was fast for us,” Cora told reporters in Fort Myers, Fla., per MassLive.com. “He texted me last night what he wanted to do. We sat down today and we mapped it out.”
Story took at-bats in a minor league game on the back fields at JetBlue Park on Thursday, but the Red Sox will wait until Saturday for him to make his Grapefruit League debut, as that’s Boston’s next home game at Fenway South after back-to-back road contests.
Story will sandwich the debut against the Tampa Bay Rays with back-field work Friday and Sunday, after which the Red Sox will decide whether he’s ready for full-time game action.
Everyone is dealing with a truncated spring training due to the Major League Baseball lockout, but Story is among those with even less time to prepare for Opening Day after a lengthy stay in free agency. News of Story’s agreement with Boston first broke Sunday, less than three weeks before the Red Sox’s season opener against the New York Yankees on April 7.
“They’re excited,” Cora told reporters, per MassLive, shedding light on the clubhouse reaction to Story joining the Red Sox. “They knew we were going to get better. It was just a matter of being patient. We had different plans and different ideas. We went through the process and ended up with him. I think, so far, even before he was here, it has been a great camp.”
Story, a shortstop throughout his six-year tenure with the Colorado Rockies, will move to second base in 2022 as Xander Bogaerts maintains his usual position up the middle for Boston.
